fictionpage Chapter 14 I wouldn't give you any food, no matter who else you offered.
Chapter 14 I wouldn't give you any food, no matter who else you offered.
Once Zhang Beichuan and the other two left, the thatched hut fell silent, with only the occasional sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking on the dirt road.
Third Brother and Little Girl looked at each other, their eyes unconsciously glancing at the old wooden cabinet.
"Sister, I'm hungry..." Zhang Xiaoju rubbed her stomach.
Actually, I just ate sweet potatoes, so I'm not really hungry, but the craving is scratching at me like a cat's claws.
Zhang Xiaoli was also tempted. She swallowed hard, walked to the cabinet, and stood on tiptoe to pry it open with difficulty.
Sure enough, there were bananas inside, a neat bunch, bright yellow, and next to them lay a bunch of purple grapes, like something out of a painting.
"Second sister, bring me a stool, I can't reach it."
Upon hearing her older sister's words, Zhang Xiaoju quickly ran to fetch a floor stool and placed it under her sister's feet.
Zhang Xiaocui, the youngest sister, watched as her second and eldest sisters stood on the floor stools, her face flushed as her second sister helped hold up the cabinet door, and her eldest sister bent down and crawled inside the cabinet to take things out.
She carefully took them out, placed them on the table, and counted them—twelve.
"Uncle said bananas don't keep for long." Zhang Xiaoli licked her lips, striking a bossy pose. "Let's each eat one, and we can eat the rest when Mom, Dad, and Uncle come back."
"Okay!" The two younger sisters immediately surrounded them, their eyes wide open.
This was the first time they had ever seen a banana; they had only ever eaten plums, peaches, and tangerines before.
Zhang Xiaoli picked out three of the plumpest-looking bananas, giving one to each of them. The bananas felt heavy in their hands, with smooth, slightly cool skin and a sweet aroma.
"How...how do I eat this?" The youngest, Zhang Xiaocui, held the banana, looking at it from left to right, unsure where to start.
Zhang Xiaoli didn't actually know either, but she couldn't admit she didn't know in front of her two younger sisters.
"Duh~ Just bite it, what other way is there to eat it?"
The second sister, Xiaoju, thought for a moment and decided that listening to her eldest sister was the right thing to do. She took a big bite, her cheeks puffing out like a little hamster.
When you eat it, the first sensation in your mouth is the astringent taste of the banana peel, followed by the soft, sweet, and glutinous white flesh inside.
"Delicious, delicious, so delicious!"
So the three little girls, who had never eaten bananas before, sat on the stool and ate them peel and all with great relish.
"If only I could eat bananas every day..." the youngest, Zhang Xiaocui, said dreamily, looking at the half-eaten banana in her hand.
These words reminded Zhang Xiaoli of Shi Lei's arrogant face yesterday, saying that the three sisters were a money-loser and that their family would never be able to afford a television in their lifetime, and that he would even go back and tattle on them!
Her little face immediately tightened. Now her family has bananas and grapes, and they even ate meat last night. Her uncle also said he would help build a bigger house and buy a TV!
What gives Shi Lei the right to look down on people?
An idea suddenly popped into my head.
"Second sister, youngest sister," Zhang Xiaoli stood up, her eyes sparkling, "Do you want to make Shi Lei jealous?"
"What's wrong?" The two younger sisters immediately perked up.
"Stop eating, let's go find him." Zhang Xiaoli took her two younger sisters' hands and strode out the door with great pride.
Shi Lei's family lives at the east end of the village, which is also where the Shi family has the largest population, and there are a lot of children here.
Several boys of similar age saw the three sisters approaching, holding up a bright yellow object, and curiously ran over.
"Lili, what are you holding?"
The little girl, acting like a big sister, waved the half-eaten banana she was reluctant to eat near their noses.
"banana."
"My uncle bought it for us," Xiaoju, the second sister, added.
Xiao Cui, the youngest, couldn't resist taking a bite of the banana, a satisfied look on her face.
"It's incredibly delicious."
These little boys from Shihe Village have never even seen a banana before!
They immediately surrounded the three sisters, watching them eat with great satisfaction, constantly swallowing their saliva.
"Lili, can I have a bite?"
"Give me a bite, and I'll show you my comic book, Cui Cui, please."
Shi Lei, who was holding a bowl of sweet potato and pickled cabbage porridge, heard his friends talking and ran out without even wiping the grains of rice from his mouth.
Seeing that the person in question had arrived, Zhang Xiaoli deliberately extended the banana.
"Shi Lei, have you ever eaten a banana? Look, this is the kind of banana that only high-ranking officials in the city can afford."
"Ooh!" She took a bite, and the banana peel was bitter and astringent, but the little girl said confidently, "It's so delicious, so sweet!"
Shi Lei was stunned; he had seen bananas before.
He ate one when he visited relatives in the city during the Spring Festival, and the taste left a deep impression on him.
They say those bananas are very expensive, and most people can't buy them.
"You... where did you get bananas from?" Shi Lei's eyes widened in disbelief.
The little girl tilted her head back, "My uncle bought it!"
"Lili, please let me have a bite, just one bite, just a tiny bite."
Shi Lei felt anxious, angry, and also craving food as he watched his usual friends who used to follow him around now all circling around the three sisters.
"Tch~ It's not like you haven't eaten it before. Besides, you didn't even peel it, you can't even eat it properly, what are you showing off for?"
The little girl's face flushed red when Shi Lei said that.
She looked down at the banana she had half-eaten in her hand, then at Shi Lei's smug "I know, you don't" look, and a stubborn streak surged through her.
"Who...who says I don't know?" she retorted, refusing to admit defeat. "I just love eating it skin and all! The skin's nutritious!"
Several little boys nearby listened, their expressions thoughtful, and nodded, their eyes fixed on the bananas in the three sisters' hands.
"Lili, just let me have a taste, no, just a lick! I'll trade you my sister's shuttlecock!"
Zhang Xiaoju glanced at her older sister, then at Shi Lei, whose eyes were fixed on the banana, and immediately peeled off the banana to reveal the white flesh inside, taking a bite.
"How can something be so delicious!"
Shi Lei looked at the pickled cabbage and sweet potato porridge he was holding, and then at the delicious and tempting bananas, and suddenly the food didn't taste good anymore.
Ultimately, his craving for food made him forget about the "grudges," and he spoke up.
"Lili, give me half a banana, and I'll let you come to my house to watch TV every day from now on."
"No!" the little girl refused decisively.
"Then give me a lick, just a tiny lick."
The little girl smiled smugly as she watched him drooling. She held out the half-eaten banana in her hand, peeled off a bit of the peel, and offered it to the little boy next to her who was willing to trade a shuttlecock for a chance to lick it.
"Hey, you can only lick it once."
The little boy immediately got excited, took a bite of the sweet banana, and jumped up excitedly.
"It's so delicious!"
The little girl looked at Shi Lei triumphantly, "I wouldn't give you any, no matter who else! Hehehe... you little tattletale, you crybaby!"
"Who cares!" Shi Lei stomped his foot angrily, then turned and ran into the house crying, "Waaah... Mom! I want a banana too!"
Chen Lirong, who was clearing the dishes inside the house, heard her youngest child running in crying and shouting that he wanted to eat a banana.
After finding out what happened, she felt embarrassed and ran out to yell at them.
"Little brat, so what if you have a little money? What are you showing off with that banana around?"
The little girl saw Shi Lei's mother chasing after them, grabbed her two younger sisters, and, not forgetting to pick up the shuttlecock the boy who had just licked the banana had handed her, ran home.
After walking quite a distance, the three sisters looked at each other and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
A string of children followed behind, all wanting to taste the banana.
At that moment, Zhang Beichuan and his two companions were crammed into a bumpy bus bound for Yingcheng, completely unaware that the three little girls had taken their revenge on Shi Lei, the crybaby.